This present invention applies to the field of cosmetics and beauty treatment as they apply particularly to the eyebrows of the human face. In particular, the present invention provides templates which may be used for shaping the eyebrows by colouring through an opening in the template; or in another embodiment, the present invention provides a template for applying a depilatory composition to the face in the region surrounding an eyebrow so as to perform a depilation procedure; or in yet another embodiment of the present invention, a template is provided having an adhesive coating on one side for performing an eyebrow shaping procedure, and a depilatory composition on the other side for performing a depilation procedure.
Many people, mostly female but not exclusively, are concerned about the shape and appearance of their eyebrows. This may mean simply the application of eyeliner or other colouring agent to enhance the appearance of the eyebrow; and in some instances, to increase the width or length of the eyebrow so as to appear more prominent. Indeed, in some instances, there are persons who have very little hair in the eyebrow region of their face, over the orbital arch of the frontal bone of the face, and those persons will want to define an eyebrow shape so as to normalize their appearance.
In other instances, many persons have too much hair, or hair in the wrong place for the desired shape of the eyebrow, and such persons undergo depilation procedures of various sorts. One such procedure is that of electrolysis, whereby the hair is removed using an electrical electrolysis apparatus. Such procedure is painful, may generally leave unsightly swelling or redness, and is temporary at best. More permanent depilation procedures involve the application of depilatory waxes in the region surrounding the eyebrowxe2x80x94or that portion of the eyebrow which is intended to remain after the depilation procedurexe2x80x94so as to remove the unwanted hair by literally grasping the hair and pulling it from the face by the roots. Waxing procedures can also be uncomfortable, especially if waxes are employed which must be softened at temperatures above 55xc2x0 C., thereby causing discomfort and possibly minor irritation resulting, again, in redness or swelling. Moreover, if the depilatory composition is put into the wrong place, then more hair may be removed than is desired. Typically, depilation waxes are applied using an instrument such as a small spatula.
Some depilatory strips are known, but they require to be carefully put into place, so as not to remove hair that is intended to be left.
The use of templates to serve both purposes of eyebrow shaping and eyebrow waxing quite surprisingly presents itself, it being unknown hither to in the professional beauty salon business to employ the use of templates particularly for eyebrow waxing depilation procedures.
Moreover, it is possible for the ordinary consumer to employ eyebrow shaping templates or eyebrow waxing templates of the sort taught herein, without having to go to a professional cosmetic or beauty salon.
Quite surprisingly, it has been discovered that if a template is provided on a flexible substrate such that it will conform to the orbital arch of the frontal bone of the human face, then an eyebrow shaping procedure or an eyebrow waxing depilation procedure can be easily and effectively carried out, either by a professional cosmetician, or by the consumer in her or his home, studio, or dressing roomxe2x80x94it being recognized that actors and/or television personalities in particular may require constant eyebrow care.
The prior art provides a variety of depilatory procedures and other depilatory compositions, and it provides a plurality of very complicated templates or stencils for use in eyebrow colouring procedures. The depilatory waxes which are found in the prior art may be used for eyebrow waxing procedures, but are more often generally intended for depilation procedures on the legs, face, and other parts of the human body as well asxe2x80x94or instead ofxe2x80x94specifically in the eyebrow region.
Of course, probably the most common manner in which the shape of the eyebrows may be changed is simply by plucking or tweezing the unwanted hairs away from the face. Such a procedure is slow and tedious, and is quite likely to cause secondary minor infection where the hairs have been pulled from the skin.
British Patent Specification 1,348,760 published Mar. 20, 1974 to Dupuy teaches a depilatory wax which is a multi-part composition. The first part is a resinous substance having a melting point in the range of 85xc2x0 C. and consisting of 75% to 80% by weight colophane and 20% to 25% by weight of paraffin wax. The second part is a resinous substance having a melting point in the range of 77xc2x0 C. and consisting of 70% to 75% by weight colophane and 25% to 30% by weight paraffin wax. The third part is a resinous substance having a melting point of 80xc2x0 C. and comprising about 66% by weight colophane with the remainder being paraffin wax and spermaceti fat. At least one mineral oil or other oil known in the cosmetic composition industry is also employed. The wax is said to have a viscous state in the range of 50xc2x0 C. to 60xc2x0 C. The wax may also contain secondary additives such as colouring matters, or finely dispersed inert solid fillers such as alumina.
Canadian Patent 1,166,577 issued May 1, 1984 to Fuentes teaches a depilatory wax which comprises 100 parts of tree resin, 10 to 20 parts of beeswax, 8 to 13 parts of castor oil, and 10 to 20 parts of calcium carbonate. The wax is applied using a stick applicator after it has been warmed to a temperature where it just begins to drip from the applicator, and after application it is rapidly pulled away from the skin so as to remove the hair with it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,190 issued Feb. 16, 1993 to Hirzel teaches an eyebrow stencil kit which comprises a pair of wing-shaped stencils which are connected by a nut and bolt that is placed in the middle of the forehead when the stencil kit is in use. One or more eyebrow cut-outs are provided, and eyeliner and other colouring agent is applied through the stencil cut-outs. The stencil is held in place during use by a stretchable headband and clip arrangement secured around the head.
Another stencil arrangement which is secured around the head by elastic bands is taught in Grenevitch et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,129 issued Sep. 2, 1997. Here, a template holder is put into place, and a series of different templates may be retained in the template holder, and simulated eyebrows are stencilled in place on the face of the user. The patent also suggests that the periphery of a template opening can be traced and after the apparatus is removed, the eyebrow hairs outside the traced area can be plucked.
Naggiar U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,187, issued Dec. 16, 1997, teaches a cold wax depilatory composition which comprises a mixture of maltodextrin having a dextrose equivalent of from about 5 to about 36, sucrose, water, and citric acid. Here, the mixture is heated so as to dissolve the solute materials and is then cooled to become a soft and pliant composition which is then manually applied to the skin. The hairs of the skin adhere to the composition such that, when it is drawn away, the hairs are removed. The composition has a waxy consistency when it has been cooled to a soft and pliant composition for application to the skin.
Helprin U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,433, issued Jan. 19, 1999, teaches an eyebrow forming template which has a backing sheet, and one or more sets of right and left eyebrow templates. The templates are provided with an adhesive so to allow them to be retained on the backing sheet and so as to allow them to be placed and retained on the eyebrow area of the user. Removable right and left eyebrow shapes are formed in the templates and are removed before applying the templates to the eyebrow area so that the shape may be filled in using any appropriate eyebrow pencil, eyebrow liner, powder, or similar product. The material of the template or stencil, and of the peel off adhesive, are all materials which are approved by the FDA for external eye area treatment.
Japanese Patent Publication 59029611, published Feb. 16, 1984 by Isehan K K teaches a depilatory wax product which has 50% rosin, 25% beeswax, 15% paraffin, and 10% Vaseline, together with some perfume. It has a melting temperature of about 60xc2x0 C. to 65xc2x0 C., and is easily melted by being placed in a cup which is placed into a water bath.
Japanese Patent Publication 61212513 published Sep. 20, 1986 in the name of Kanebo Ltd. teaches a pressure-sensitive adhesive depilatory which has an analgesic effect to suppress the pain which is caused by peeling of the depilation plaster away from the skin. In particular, analgesic is employed using an extract of the dried root and rhizome of the species Asiasarun sieboldi. The depilatory is a pressure-sensitive adhesive which may be a thermoplastic elastomer, a depilatory wax, or a depilatory jelly.
Japanese Patent Publication 08089341, published Apr. 9, 1996 in the name of Fujiwara teaches an eyebrow shaping sheet which has a shape cut into it to be placed against the forehead or temple. The sheet is stabilized on the face simply by being pressed against the face by hand, and the eyebrow is drawn using a powder or pencil eyebrow make-up. The sheet of the stencil may be paper, plastic, vinyl, or cellophane.
Japanese Patent Publication 10108730, published Apr. 28, 1998 in the name of Kose Corporation, also teaches a template for make-up of the eyebrow. Here, the template is one which folds, and is secured in place by a couple of adhesive positioning parts. One half of the template has a wider shaping hole than the other. The wider shaping hole is employed first so as to paint the general eyebrow shape, then the template is folded and a relatively dark colour is painted through the narrow hole.
Another product in the Canadian market at the time of filing the present application is sold in association with the trade-mark SUDDEN CHANGE(copyright), and comprises pairs of so-called eyebrow shapers; which, are a set of pre-cut shapers that are placed over and under the eyebrows for depilation purposes. However, notwithstanding that the literature suggests a waxing step, the shapers are, in fact, coated on one side thereof with a high tack adhesive, and are mounted on a release backing.
The present invention provides templates which may find themselves having three different embodiments. The first is an eyebrow shaping template, the second is an eyebrow waxing template, and the third is both an eyebrow shaping template and an eyebrow waxing template. As will be noted hereafter, each template in keeping with the present invention employs the use of a substrate having at least one coating thereon. That coating may be a low-tack non-allergenic adhesive, or it may be a depilatory coating. In the case where the invention provides both an eyebrow shaping template and an eyebrow waxing template, both of the low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating and the depilatory coating are found, one on each side of the substrate.
Because the human face is essentially symmetrical, the left and right eyebrows are essentially mirror images one of the other. Thus, two-sided templates in keeping with the present invention will be employed for either the right eyebrow or the left eyebrow, depending on whether it is the low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating or the depilatory coating which is facing and in contact with the skin of the face in the region surrounding that respective left or right eyebrow.
The present invention provides an eyebrow shaping template to be applied to the eyebrow area of the human face for defining an area for colouring a desired shape of a left or right eyebrow, the template comprising a substrate which has a first side and a second side, and a low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating on one or the other of the first and second sides of the substrate. The adhesive coating permits for temporary adhesion of the template to the skin of the human face.
An opening is formed through the adhesive coating and the substrate, the shape of the opening being the desired shape for a left eyebrow or a right eyebrow.
The substrate is flexible; and it is non-stretchable so as to maintain its shape and the shape of the opening therein when the template is in use.
The present invention provides for an eyebrow shaping template set, which set comprises a pair of eyebrow shaping templates as noted above.
One of the pair of templates has an opening formed therein for colouring a left eyebrow when placed in the left eyebrow area of a human face, with the adhesive coating thereon in contact with the skin of the face. The other of the pair of templates has an opening formed therein for colouring a right eyebrow when placed in the right eyebrow area of a human face, with the adhesive coating thereon in contact with the skin of the face.
In keeping with another provision of the present invention, each of the pair of eyebrow shaping templates in the eyebrow shaping template set has an opening formed therein which is chosen from a plurality of different shapes, for colouring different shaped eyebrows.
The substrate may be chosen from the group consisting of surgical tape, paper, vinyl, cellulose, polyethylene, tightly woven synthetic fibres, tightly woven natural fibres, and combinations and mixtures thereof.
The eyebrow shaping template set of the present invention may be one of a plurality of similar pairs of eyebrow shaping templates, each of which has first and second ends, and which are removable attached one to another at their respective first and second ends. Thus, the plurality of pairs of eyebrow shaping templates may be formed into a roll, for dispensing one pair of eyebrow shaping templates at a time.
Typically, when the eyebrow shaping templates are rolled in a plurality of sets thereof, a release film is placed over the low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating so as to keep one layer of the rolled template sets from adhering to another layer of the rolled template sets.
The opening which is formed in each eyebrow shaping template may be formed by stamping the material of the template, whereby a chad is formed in the shape of the opening. Especially when there is a release film placed over the low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating, the chad may be removed and applied to an eyebrow for masking the eyebrow when further procedures will follow in the region surrounding the eyebrow.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an eyebrow waxing template for depilation of an area surrounding a left or right eyebrow on the human face. In this case, the eyebrow template also comprises a substrate having a first side and a second side, and a depilatory coating on one of the first or second sides. The coating is intended for placement against the skin and against any unwanted hair in the eyebrow region of a human face.
There is, again, an opening formed through the depilatory coating and the substrate. The opening has a desired shape of a left eyebrow or a right eyebrow to remain in the eyebrow area of a human face following a depilation procedure.
The substrate is flexible, and is non-stretchable so as to maintain its shape and the shape of the opening therein when the template is in use.
The depilatory coating is chosen from the group which consists of heat-activated depilatory compositions, pressure-activated depilatory compositions, and compositions thereof.
As before, an eyebrow waxing template set is provided in keeping with the present invention, by the provision of a pair of eyebrow waxing templates as described above. One of the pair of templates has an opening therein for placement over the left eyebrow of a human face during a depilation procedure in the region of that left eyebrow; and the other of the pair of templates has an opening therein for placement over the right eyebrow of the human face during a depilation procedure in the region of that right eyebrow.
As above, each of the pair of eyebrow waxing templates may have an opening formed therein which is chosen from a plurality of different shapes.
The substrate for the eyebrow waxing template of the present invention may be the same as described above. Also, a plurality of pairs of eyebrow waxing templates in keeping with the present invention may be wound in a roll, also as described above.
The eyebrow waxing depilatory coating may be a heat-activated depilatory composition which may be chosen from the group of such compositions that consists of a low melting point depilatory wax which includes a naturally occurring resinous substance, a low melting point depilatory wax which includes paraffin wax, a low melting depilatory wax which includes sucrose and maltodextrin, and mixtures thereof. The depilatory coating is heat-activatable by being temporarily exposed to a source of radiant heat, or by being placed in contact with steam or a heated liquid. Also, the depilatory coating may be a pressure-sensitive depilatory composition chosen from the group of such compositions which consists of styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymers, hydrogenated rosins, depilatory jellies which include a starch syrup, and mixtures thereof.
Yet a further embodiment of the present invention provides for an eyebrow shaping and waxing template for conducting either of an eyebrow colouring procedure to either of the left eyebrow or the right eyebrow of a human face, or a depilation procedure of the hair surrounding the eyebrow in the region of the right eyebrow or the left eyebrow of a human face.
The eyebrow shaping and waxing template also comprises a substrate, which has a first side and a second side.
A low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating is applied on the first side of the substrate, for temporarily adhering to the skin of the human face; and a depilatory coating is applied on the second side of the substrate, for placement against the skin and any unwanted hair in the eyebrow region of a human face.
An opening is formed through the adhesive coating, the substrate, and the depilatory coating, where the opening has a desired shape of an eyebrow area to be coloured or of the eyebrow which is intended to remain in the eyebrow area of a human face following a depilation procedure.
As before, the substrate is flexible, and is non-stretchable so as to maintain its shape and the shape of the opening therein when the template is in use. Also, as before, the depilatory coating may be chosen from the group which consists of heat-activated depilatory compositions, pressure-activated depilatory compositions, and combinations thereof.
An eyebrow shaping and waxing template set may be provided in keeping with the present invention, for colouring a desired shape of both a left and a right eyebrow on a human face, or for depilation of the area surrounding each of the left eyebrow and the right eyebrow of a human facexe2x80x94the set thereby taking advantage of the symmetry of the human face. The eyebrow shaping and waxing template set comprises a pair of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates as described above.
One of the pair of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates has an opening formed therein for colouring a left eyebrow when placed in the left eyebrow area of a human face with the adhesive coating on the first side of the substrate being in contact with the skin of the face in the region of the left eyebrow. Alternatively, that particular one of the pair of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates may be intended for placement over the right eyebrow of a human face during a depilation procedure in the region of the right eyebrow when the depilatory coating on the second side of the substrate is placed against the skin and any unwanted hair in the right eyebrow region of the human face.
Likewise, the other of the pair of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates may be intended for use in colouring a right eyebrow, or for placement over the left eyebrow of a human face during a depilation procedure in the region of the left eyebrow.
As before, each of the eyebrow shaping and waxing templates in the set may have an opening formed therein which is chosen from a plurality of different shapes, for colouring different shaped eyebrows, or for use during any depilation procedure in the region of the left or right eyebrow, each having a desired shape.
The substrate of the eyebrow shaping and waxing template of the present invention may be as described above.
Also, as noted above, pluralities of pairs of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates in keeping with the present invention may be provided in a roll thereof.
Typically, when there is a plurality of eyebrow shaping and waxing templates which are provided in a roll, a release film is placed over the low-tack non-allergenic adhesive coating on the first side of the substrate, so as to preclude adhesion of the adhesive coating on one layer of the roll against the depilatory coating on the adjacent layer of the roll.
The depilatory coating on the second side of the substrate of an eyebrow shaping and waxing template in keeping with the present invention, may be a heat-activated depilatory composition, a pressure-activated depilatory composition, or a combination thereof.